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Beannacht ( blessing or benediction)

A blessing for a Sunday night, or a Monday morning, whatever faces you this week or has been in the week just closed. A blessing for those I know and love, and those who may have stumbled upon this looking for something else. Shortly before his sudden unexpected death in 2008 aged 52, John O Donohue recited his poem Beannacht, during an interview. I had the privilege of meeting him at Greenbelt Festival in the year or two before this, having long been captured by his writings. In his family’s own words:

“John had an amazing intellect which could never allow itself to become a prisoner of its own `ivory tower`. He had a beautiful, wild soul that he showered with love and attention. All of this, together with his great respect for language as expression and his sensitive eye led him on the journey towards poetry as being his best-loved medium of expression and conversation. I think that ‘poetry’ must have been very frustrated at all the time he spent under the spell of Theology and Philosophy!! Poetry was an impatiently awaiting vehicle eager to transport his fluency out to starved ears.“

He served as a catholic priest for most of his adult life At the end of 2000, John retired from public priestly ministry and devoted himself full-time to his writing and to a more public life of integrity in action – speaking, advocating against social injustice, and inspiring the wealthy and powerful in society to engage their own integrity in service of meaningful, positive change. He is certainly someone I can say ( and many others will agree) whose ‘life was an inspiration, and whose memory a benediction’.

Beannacht

for Josie, my motherOn the day whenthe weight deadenson your shouldersand you stumble,may the clay danceto balance you.And when your eyesfreeze behindthe grey windowand the ghost of lossgets into you,may a flock of colours,indigo, red, greenand azure bluecome to awaken in youa meadow of delight.When the canvas frays in the currach of thoughtand a stain of oceanblackens beneath you,may there come across the watersa path of yellow moonlightto bring you safely home. May the nourishment of the earth be yours,may the clarity of the light be yours,may the fluency of the ocean be yours,may the protection of the ancestors be yours.And so may a slow wind work these wordsof love around you,an invisible cloakto mind your life.

This poem can be found under the title Blessing for the New Year, in his book, Bless the space Between U s available in the USA, or in the book Echoes of Memory available in Europe/UK.

2 thoughts on “Beannacht ( blessing or benediction)”

Reblogged this on myndseyesite's Blog and commented:
A benediction is a blessing given at the end of a worship service. It provides to the listener a warm cloak of faith to wear out into the world where she/he will face everything that life has to offer. The following benediction, written by a poet/priest is just so beautiful I wanted to share it. Words of faith and hope – sustaining to the spirit! I hope this bene (good) diction (spoken word?) might wrap around you and provide some comfort.